26 November 2014 Russian Art Auctions
26 November 2014
* 52. KONCHALOVSKY, PETR (1876-1956)
Panorama of Novgorod, signed, also further signed, numbered "573" and dated 1925 on the reverse.
Oil on canvas, 67 by 80.5 cm.
220,000-280,000 GBP
Authenticity of the work has been confirmed by the expert I. Geraschenko.
Literature: Konchalovsky. Khudozhestvennoe nasledie, Moscow, Iskusstvo, 1964, p. 167, listed as “zhi 1604”.
Petr Konchalovsky, the famous 20th century Russian master, has won great acclaim amongst collectors and art lovers. His art can be described as the quintessence of the revolutionary transformations in Russian and Soviet art – from the avant-garde to the classic Realism of the 1920s–1930s. The offered landscape of the Novgorod Kremlin is a fine example of the artist’s so called Post-Jack of Diamonds period, when his perception of form became more secure and generalised. At his time, the artist enjoyed visiting the old Russian cities and spent much time wandering amongst ancient buildings and producing a series of numerous wonderful works.
The artist spent three summers in Novgorod in 1925, 1926 and 1928. During his first sojourn there, he painted the walls of the Panorama of Novgorod, depicting the kremlin walls. Konchalovsky had a deep feeling for this ancient architecture and the spirit it embodied. The massive dimensions of the buildings, the walls and the kremlin tower fill most of the landscape. The artist’s motif, the way he renders the materiality of the buildings, the peculiarities of the composition and the palette – based on a combination of green, greyish-blue, reddish-brown and ochre colours – are all components of his trademark style of the mid-1920s. Despite the apparent austerity of the palette, the work is a brilliant example of artistic integrity and Konchalovsky’s colouristic taste.
Notes on symbols:
* Indicates 5% Import Duty Charge applies.
Ω Indicates 20% Import Duty Charge applies.
§ Indicates Artist's Resale Right applies.
† Indicates Standard VAT scheme applies, and the rate of 20% VAT will be charged on both hammer price and premium.